It would appear that their might have been and still is.
Not really but when I found pictures of Hawaiian war helmets made from gourds, I could not help but have this amusing thought. The way these helmets are made, many of them actually look like stylized Cthulhu visages. Round head, large orb-like eyes and dangling tentacles at the mouth, one has to wonder if Lovecraft himself ever saw these artifacts before he wrote of his own elder evils.
There is also some interesting fuel here for RPGs and miniatures gaming. It would be easy enough to morph these striking gourd helmets into ceremonial garb worn by warriors who took blood and glory in the name of their lord who slumbers in the deep. Add to this the whole island location and the you really could have something. I'll likely dodge this angle for my Hawaii project, but it was worth noting.
Have fun,
-Eli
Posts
That is fun.
ReplyDelete:)
Michael
What's funny is I first started seeing these weird "Cthulhu" tattoos on surfers. Until I found pictures of the actual helmets I was thinking to myself, "Wow, I had no idea Cthulhu was so popular with surfers.)
ReplyDelete-Eli
I did not know about the surfer thing either, but when you consider that The BIG C is suposed to be sleeping in the sea...yeah it fits.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures you posted do look cool...to close really...lol.
Michael
It is an uncanny resemblence, eh? The drawing is from Cook's own expedition, I guess.
ReplyDelete-Eli
Nice catch, Eli! I'm not sure I could resist the Cthulhu angle, myself. I'm a sucker for Things Man Was Not Meant to Know.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't already, you have got to check out the webcomic Lovecraft is Missing: www.lovecraftismissing.com. It rocks.
If you do decide to muck about with Elder Gods, you have to watch out for vile Asians of Khoppi rites. (say it kinda quickly...)
Or have they run out by now?
Don't think I'd have to worry about any of that stuff just for a fun homebrew setting.
ReplyDeleteSure if I went to publish anything, maybe, but I wouldn't take it that far.
-Eli
Those helmets would be really easy to convert onto figs. I notice that most of the 15mm Hawaiians I have seen either have no helmets or have the "lama" style hats.
ReplyDelete-Eli
The Polynesian god Kanaloa is undoubtedly the primary influence for Cthulhu. Kaneloa is a god of the Ocean and the Underworld. He is described as a giant man with the head of an octopus or squid. I have always thought that the island of Niihau would make an excellent Deep One colony in the vein of Innsmouth or Black Cod Island.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanaloa